This Weekend...

we went to a B&B for the weekend. The B&B was nice, but the little town it was in, sucked. Everything closed at like 6pm and there was nothing to do after that. Saturday afternoon we hit some wineries, and that was really the highlight of the weekend.

When we got back today, we went over to Chris's cousin's for a BBQ. Then, after that, we came home and vegged out most of the day. That was nice. I'm tired.

I think Beckie will be in town this week, so hopefully her and RJ will come over one night for dinner. If they do come, I'm going to make Emeril's Banana Cream Pie, which I just found the recipe for tonight. Wooo.

I need to go wash my hair. Then, I'm going to put on my pj's and watch TV. Ahhh a lazy night! Back to work tomorrow. Guh.

Enough!

Enough with the tornado warnings already. For the second night in a row, I just got back up from the basement. It's nerve racking thinking that a tornado could be coming to suck your house away.

They say it's okay to come up..so..we'll see.

Chris is making pasta and Nigella Lawson Toasted mozzarella Sammiches for dinner. Yum!

I'm half worried about the weather and half bummed out because I'm going through vacation withdrawal. I just love vacation. We're not going on another 'real' vacation for 4, almost 5 months. BLAH. Granted, we are going away this weekend..and in July we're going away too..but it's just not the same. I think you have to leave the state you live in for it to be considered vacation. I can't wait until next year! Another cruise, and also Paris! Exciting Exciting!

Today was a busy day. Really busy actually. Tonight I need to go through the 400+ pictures from Miami.

Well, I think I'll go do that now..and pay attention to the news..I hope there's not another tornado tonight.

Wooo

I'm rested today! I slept very nice last night. And, and today, Melissa sent me a recipe for Cashew Chicken. Wooo. I haven't had good cashew chicken since I lived in Springfield. I will have to make it this week. Woo again. If anybody is interested, here it is.

Springfield Mo's Authentic Cashew Chicken

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

5 tablespoons cornstarch

3 eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon peanut oil

2 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 tablespoon white sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/8 cup chopped green onion for topping

2 cups cashew halves

Cut the chicken breasts into 1 inch pieces. In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch. In another dish or bowl beat the eggs. Dip chicken pieces into flour mixture, then eggs, then flour mixture again. Heat peanut oil in a large skillet and deep fry coated chicken in hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Meanwhile (while frying chicken), heat broth to boiling in a medium saucepan. Add oyster sauce, sugar, soy sauce and white pepper. Mix remaining 4 tablespoons cornstarch with a small amount of cold water in a cup. Stir cornstarch mixture slowly into broth mixture to thicken, then cook for another 5 minutes over medium low heat. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Heat cashew nuts and chopped green onions in preheated oven for about 5 minutes. Pour broth sauce/gravy over fried chicken and top with cashews and green onion. Serve with soy sauce to taste over a bed of fried rice or steamed rice, if desired.

There you have it. Now, back to work for me!

Miami!

What a weekend! We had a *blast* in Miami this weekend. We got into South Beach around 5ish. After we explored the hotel a bit, we got ready to go out to Emeril's Miami Beach restaurant. Oh wow. WOW. I was totally impressed with this place. While it was pricey, it was totally worth it. The food was top notch. We ate so much, I'm surprised we were able to walk out. I had BBQ Shrimp with a Petite Rosemary Biscuit, Emeril's salad (which was some greens and spinach with goat cheese and garlic and some really yummy dressing), then for my main dish, I had BBQ Salmon with onion straws and diced potatoes. The BBQ sauce on this stuff was tasty! Chris had homemade andouille sausage on garlic bread, a caprese salad with the BEST fresh mozzarella cheese I've *ever* had, then for his main dish, he had fresh tuna with garlic green beans and baby potatoes. The tuna was unbelievably good! It was cooked perfect! (rare) For desert, (like we needed any after all that food) but I had banana cream pie with caramel and chocolate curls and Chris had a key lime tart with pineapple glaze. It was soooo good. The banana cream pie wasn't like normal cream pie. It had HUGE chunks of banana's in it. Totally yummy! We had a bottle of really good wine too. The whole dinner was just fabulous. I can't wait to go back! If you're heading to Miami, you must make reservations here. Trust me! Anyway, after dinner, we were so full and tired that we just walked back to our hotel and went to bed.

Saturday morning we got up and went down the beach. That was so nice. It felt great, though the water was a little chilly. After the beach, we were going to go to this Cuban place on Collins Ave. (a little ways from the hotel) but when we got back, we found that Tish & Jim and Paulette & Dan had gotten to the hotel. Sooo, we all went to the Cuban place. The mojitos were great! After lunch, we went to the Art Deco district and checked out the shops and stuff. Then, we went by Versace's house (where he was shot) We took a few pictures there, and by that time, it was time to go back to the hotel and get ready for the 'pre-wedding' dinner.

For that, we went to this Italian place called Paesano's. It was on Washington. They sent a limo to pick us up and when we got there, WOW. Another fab place to eat! Their mojitos were even better than the Cuban place. The food was authentic Italian and everything was totally fresh. It was nice. We had a great time! I had ordered a cake for Jim & Tish, and after dinner, when they brought it out, they totally did a great job. They were so surprised! The lady who was singing there also sang a song for them. All around it was a good dinner! After that, we headed over to Ocean Avenue and went to Mango's. That place is crazy. We had a good time but the mojitos there weren't very good at all. That was really my only complaint. The place was packed and everyone said it was a great place to hang. Anyway, we partied there for a while then headed back to the hotel.

Sunday was the wedding. It was so beautiful. Everything went so smoothly! The only mishap we had was that Tish almost forgot her shoes for her dress...and her maid of honor *could not fit into her dress*. Oh yes, I said it. The woman couldn't fit into her dress! Hello! How do you get a dressed altered and then not try it on to see if it fits!!! We ended up having to cut the liner out of the dress and we squeezed her in it..the only thing was...she couldn't sit down. hahaha But, that was just a minor detail. The day was about Tish. It was great! We had to leave right after the wedding since they got married on a ship. However, after we got off the boat, they told us that they thought all visitors had gotten off the ship. Uh, no. So anyway, there was a little confusion there, but nothing major.

After that, we hung out with Judd & Sissy (Jim's niece) for a while, then we went to sleep. We had to get up at 3:30am to catch our flight out of FLL. Let me just point out that 3:30am Miami time, is really 2:30am Missouri time. I am so tired right now. I am going to force myself to stay up until 10pm though. If not, I will have my sleep schedule messed up all week.

We took a *ton* of pictures. 353 to be exact. I'll have them up soon. Don't know when though.

While we were having a beer at a place on Ocean...a guy walked up to us selling a CD. He gave us his little schpell and he had a CD player with him so we could hear a few songs. Well, I ended up buying it and you know..it's not all that bad. It's called Duo Live 1st H.I.M.Pressions. Anyway, just thought I'd share that.

It's been a long day. I'm tired and thirsty. I'm about to go get a beer and watch the Soprano's..then finally, I'm going to bed. It's a new week, so if I can get my sleep schedule worked out, I'll post more this week.

Just a reminder (to Chris) to everyone that our 3rd wedding anniversary is on Wednesday. Woohoo! 3 long years. Don't forget...everyone!

Peace, Love & Good Food.

Countdown to Miami

Well, I'm pretty much all packed and ready to go. The only thing I have left to pack is makeup, my toothbrush, another pair of shoes, and my Palm. Woohoo! I am so freaking excited.

Today, on a whim, I decided to call Emeril's in Miami Beach to see if I could get a reservation for tomorrow night. At first, the lady said they were booked..but when I said I was flying in for the weekend from St. Louis, she told me they did have an opening. I was so freaking excited! I can't wait! I totally love watching his show. And shit, how can I pass up an opportunity for good food and wine!

Anyway, I'm so giddy about that, that I don't even feel tired.

Tomorrow night at this time, I plan to be finishing off my second bottle of wine at Emeril's, eating his banana cream pie with caramel and chocolate curls. MmmMmmm.

I think this weekend is going to be good and I can't wait!

Well, I'm going to finish watching this show about king cobra's on NGC, then I'm going to try and go to sleep. I'll update again when I get back...

Mmmm Zillion Dolla' Frittata

Wow, there really are stupid people in the world. What a waste of money. Why didn't I think of a $1000 omlette first?!?!

You are a beautiful, unique little snowflake! Yes you are!

Okay, well maybe you're not. But, I am.

I'm not so tired today. Chris got up at like 6:30 this morning, and since we have 2 different alarms, for some reason, I looked at the clock and was listening to NPR, and as the announcer said "it's 4 minutes till the hour" some how, that registered to me as "8am". So, I kind of freaked out. Then, I rolled over and looked at the other clock, and saw it was only 7. Phshew! I sort of felt like I cheated time out of 20 more minutes of sleep. I guess that's why I don't feel tired. I cheated on time! ha!

Okay so I can see today going by slow so far. Hopefully one of my favorite clients will come in and keep me my usual chatty self.

This morning on the way to work, I listened to a cd that I have no idea where I got it. It's Cuban Originals and it sounds really 'festive'. I rolled the windows down and turned it up and it was nice. It got me hyped up for Miami.

I think I'll make a list. Lists are my thing.

Tired :(

BLAH. I just finished doing stuff. It's been a long night. After work, I headed over to grandma's to get ready for dinner. We went to Lemon Grass (which was totally yummy!) The sesame tofu was killer! Very good. You should go. Anyway, after dinner, we went to Ted Drewes, then back to grandma's. Then, we drove home and I packed some more. It's amazing how fast I can pack if I don't have things breaking my concentration! I got basically everything packed except for a list of about 10 things. Go me! I will finish it up tomorrow.

After that, I decided to do "the books", considering I hadn't done them in a long time. I was totally blown away by how much we've spent on dining out in the past month. Jeez. It's crazy since we both really love to cook. So, I told Chris that we shouldn't go out and eat for a while. I really resent spending that much money on eating out, when we can cook 'eat out' quality food at home! Anyway, I paid a ton of bills (which sucks) and now I should take a shower before I go to bed..however I'm so freaking tired, I don't think I have the energy to take a shower. So, I will just go to bed instead.

I hope tomorrow doesn't go by too fast. I have a ton to do tomorrow. Oh well, I don't want to think about it. I'm too tired.

Candy!

I just got back to work from Target. I went to buy 21 bags of candy for work. That's a shitload of candy, let me tell you! $50 worth.

I'm tired today. I didn't want to wake up this morning. I wore a new pair of shoes I got yesterday today, and they're hurting my feet. The pain I go through to have pretty feet!

Tonight we're going to Lemongrass. I don't really feel like Vietnamese food tonight. I think I'd rather just have a salad and maybe a tuna sandwich. Oh well.

I'm thirsty, so I guess I'm going to go get something to drink. Later-

I got...

a new camera bag and 2 pairs of shoes. Woo! I am so tired. I really just wanna go to bed, but I still have to switch the laundry, clean up the kitchen, and pack a few more things for Friday. Well, not technically pack, but lay out in preparation to pack. You get the point.

Today was kind of a blur. I don't exactly remember what I did. I suppose that's a good thing.

Last night I fell asleep watching this show in NGC about crazy healing practices...like getting stung by bees to cure MS, and letting maggots eat your flesh, to letting leeches suck on you. It was really interesting however, about 30 minutes into it, I was so out of it, I could barely hold my eyes open to finish watching it. I like falling asleep like that. It's so nice to finally like, quit fighting the sleepy feeling and just fall asleep.

Tomorrow I need to straighten my hair. Damn this humidity and my naturally curly hair. I suppose I should go do laundry chores and then make my way to bed.

We just got home from Fritz's (make no mistake about it though, my loyalties still lie with Ted Drewes) with the 'rents. I wore my pj's. ha! It feels so nice outside. I love nights like this.

India made some really good soup for dinner tonight. After we ate, we went to Circuit City to get Chris's new PocketPC. Woo exciting.

Today was so crappy. I'm so glad it's almost over. This is probably one of the worst Monday's I've had in a long time. I don't know what it was today. People were just getting on my last nerve. There was a point today where my boss was standing at my desk talking to a client, and this guy was eating candy from the candy bowl on my desk and chomping on candy and talking with his mouth full, piece after piece he kept piling in and talking...and flailing his arms around as he talked. He was just so obnoxious. I had to remove myself from my desk and go into the computer lab to keep from strangling this guy. He just got on my nerves. It sucked. But, it's over now, so I'm not going to dwell on it anymore. Moving on...

I have so much to do this week. I really do. It's so freaking overwhelming. Chris's grandpa died yesterday morning. We were kind of expecting it because he was pretty old, had tons of heart problems, and he had stopped eating and stuff a few weeks ago. However, it was still his grandpa and his grandma and mom and aunts, uncles etc are pretty sad. Since we're going to be in Miami this weekend, we're going to miss the funeral festivities, however on Wednesday, everyone is meeting at Lemon Grass for dinner. So, besides dealing with that, I need to do laundry for the trip this weekend..and did i mention that also on Sunday, our washing machine stopped working? Anyway, we either need to go get a new one like..tomorrow, or I need to go over to the 'rents and do some. I need to pack, pay bills, go in for a dress fitting for Jamie's wedding next month, and we need to close on our refi for the house.

Exciting I know!

Anyway, I guess that's it. Instead of typing what I "need" to do, I should just be doing it. So, I guess I will. Starting with checking the weather in Miami this weekend.

Sweet Dreams!

What?

Is this really newsworthy? Give me a break.

I'm not having a good day today. I'm busy as hell at work. People are driving me nuts. My hair looks like crap, and my white sandals are dirty. Did I mention people are driving me nuts?

My decorator called and said she was done with one of my wreaths! That kind of made me happy. My sister is on her way over ther to pick it up right now! Wooo.

Okay, back to work. Hopefully the day gets better.

My Weekend

Geez. This weekend went by fast! Friday, I got off work early then fell asleep watching Oprah. When Chris got home, we headed over to his 'rents house for dinner and drinks with them and his sister and her boy. The food was excellent! But, then again, it always is. My sister got into town around 9ish, so we came home and started preparing for the "big" garage sale. Remind me never to have a garage sale again.

We didn't really get done with stuff until 1am or so. Saturday morning, we got up nice and early at 5am. (Yes, really.) We sat everything out and then, waited...and waited..and waited..you get the point. It was cold, and nobody really came. By 9am, we only had 3 or 4 people by. It really sucked. So, as the morning progressed, we did get more and more people however, by noon-thirty, we decided to shut it down because we were tired and hungry and basically, just tired of people trying to haggle with prices. How crazy is it for someone to try to haggle down the price of 50 cents? Give me a break. Anyway, we packed everything that was left up, and decided we would just call the veteran's to come pick everything up. However, if anyone needs a loveseat or a kitchen table, let me know.

So, after that, we hit the chinese buffet, came home and took a nice long nap, then me and India went to Chesterfield Mall. I got a new shirt from Banana Republic and that's it. Surprisingly. After the mall, we went to Target and spent way too long in there looking for a gift to get Jamie for her bridal shower. I settled on towels, a rug, and some candles from her registry. We didn't get home until around 9pm, we ate dinner, then we decided to go see Mean Girls. It was pretty good, but I really kind of expected it to be a little funnier. Oh well, it was a good movie, and I'm happy with that.

Saturday, I realized that I left the charger for the Rebel in my bosses camera bag, so I called him but he wasn't home. Anyway, this morning, he called and woke us up, which sucked. This morning, I met him around 11:30, got the charger, came back home, got ready for Jamie's shower, then left. The shower was okay. We got there around 1:30 and didn't end up leaving until around 5:30ish. It was kind of odd when she was opening her gifts. Nobody was really paying attention. It was just weird. The shower was a little generic, and if it wasn't for Jamie's mom and my sister, I probably wouldn't have stayed very long. Oh well. Oh joy for the wedding next month. (Just so you know, I was rolling my eyes when I typed that.)

Anyway, after we got home today, India and I went for a walk. Then, I made dinner and we went shopping for a few things while Chris cleaned up. Now, I'm watching The Sopranos.

This week is going to be a blur I think. I have so much to do before Friday. I changed my mind on what dress I wanted to wear to the wedding this weekend. I'm sure I'll change it again before it's all said and done with. Anyway, I think I've typed enough. I'm going to finish watching this, then going to bed. Night!

Just Drive.

I hate St. Louis traffic. I don't think I know anybody who actually likes traffic at all, let alone St. Louis traffic however, today I was starting to think I should move to Montana. Then I realized that would be a poor decision. Traffic was just shitty today. It took me an hour and 10 minutes to get from 40 & 270 to 270 & Page. That's like a 10 minute trip (with normal traffic) tops. I just wanted to rage. But, I was on the phone with my grandma, so I kept myself in check. I just don't get why people in St. Louis freak out everytime it rains, snows, the wind blows, somebody wrecks, somebody has car problems, or a piece of trash blows in the road. It's totally frustrating.

So, since it took me 1 hour and 30 minutes to get home today, I was cranky. Carol & John came over and brought some tables for the garage sale, then we ordered pizza from Tomatoes Pizzaraia. I had a huge salad with house dressing and it was fantastic! But, because I was so cranky, I snapped at Chris. So, I just wanna say to Chris, I'm sorry I snapped at you. It's everyone who was holding up the traffic on 270's fault.

I really need to get my ass out of this chair and finish getting garage stuff together. I also need to go get poster making supplies for the garage sale signs. I'm sort of excited about having a garage sale. It's my first garage sale in my first house! I know that you're probably rolling your eyes, but dude. It's a huge deal to me. It's my junk, that I own, that I want to sell, in the garage of my house, that I own. It just rocks owning stuff.

Anyway, I think I've just inspired myself to go gather more junk. I shall do that, then head out for poster supplies. Perhaps I'll run into the Aussie guy at Walgreen's. I like it when he talks to me. He's chatty, and his accent makes me giggle.

GUH!

I am so full. Our Fuji rep. is in today and of course, he bought everyone lunch. He always wants to order pizza though. The problem is, we're having pizza for dinner tonight. Anyway, we ordered from Papa John's and I got some chicken strips for me, instead of eating pizza. Woah. I am full. They're pretty tasty, and really weren't that greasy...which kinda surprised me. I'm so ready for a nap.

I think it's going to rain. I hear thunder. The sky is the color that makes you want to take a nap with a big fluffy warm comforter.

I keep thinking about this weekend. It's going to be so freaking hectic. Oh well. At least my little sister will be here. I miss her!

I think I'm going to trek out to my car and get the new Black Eyed Peas CD that Chris burned for me last night.

What a bunch of crap.

LaToya London voted off of American Idol!@#@!#! WTF is wrong with you people. I guess really I can't say much since I didn't vote, but geez. Come on people. The girl from Hawaii and Diana suck. I hope LaToya gets a record contract. The other night, Wanda Sikes was on Jay Leno, and she said something about making the loser sing at the end of the show. "Come on LOSER! America thinks you suck, now sing us a song!" I just thought it was kinda funny.

Anyway, we had stir fry tonight. It was really good. Really, Really, Really good. Yumm!

Well, as if my weekend wasn't busy enough, it got a little more busy. On Sunday, besides the bridal shower, Chris's grandma is having a big family dinner. So, the shower is at 2pm and I did get the grandma dinner changed to 11am, so hopefully the times will work out.

Friday afternoon, I have to go get a pelvic ultrasound. My doctor said he thinks everything is fine and I don't have cancer, but he just wanted to totally be sure. So, I'm not extremely worried about it, but it's still a little nerve rattling. I have to drink like 40 ozs. of water about an hour before I go...without peeing. That's going to suck. Anyway, good wishes and prayers my way please!

I didn't make it to Schiller's tonight, maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be cake at work. No bosses and very few co-workers. Wooo! Play day for Dana tomorrow!

Well, I've got to burn a CD, then hit the sack. I've been going to bed way to late and waking up way too late.

I changed..

my template. Can you tell? I can't decide if I like it. But, now you can leave comments and let me know. I will add some more stuff later tonight.

I don't get it.

I don't understand why people kill other people. I really don't. And I'm not just saying that because I'm some flaky bimbo. Because I'm not flaky or a bimbo. But seriously, I guess I just don't understand the concept of killing someone because they're a different race or religion etc etc. If someone was physically harming me in a manner in which I knew I was going to die, I can see fighting back to kill...but I just don't understand killing someone for no reason. I guess I'll never understand it, so I'll quit trying. The only thing I can say is people are crazy. Just plain crazy.

Okay, now that that's out of my system, I can move on.

I have some little things I need to do today while I'm at work. They're simple things really. I just don't feel like doing them. I really need to though.

Tonight I'm going to Schiller's to get the camera bag for the Rebel. My boss is going with me thankfully. I have no idea which one I want, so I need a second opinion.

Tonight I should finish up the rest of the garage sale stuff, even though I keep thinking it's Thursday, and it's only Wednesday. I'd rather have it done before Friday. I feel bad for not bringing anything to the in-law's on Friday for the party, but my mother-in-law said not to. So, I won't!

I think I'm going to make stir-fry tonight. Then, I'll go for a jog. Sounds like a plan. Now back to work!

Mmmmmm

Sometimes I buy Cherry Freeze Cups from the Schwans man. They're so yummy! MmmMmmMmm!

I've decided I don't like Lemon Pepper. Tonight we had Lemon Pepper Chicken Breasts, salad, Mediterranean Cous Cous, and green bean beans. I just dislike the taste of Lemon Pepper. Ick. It tastes like retarded pepper.

Today was totally quiet at work, which was good because I had a terrible headache, all day. Finally, I drank a Diet Pepsi and my headache went away. I think it was a caffeine related headache. I'm trying to stop drinking soda. So, tomorrow, I'll try it again...until I get another headache.

Well, tonight I got some more garage stuff together. I even filled out a ad request for the Post, however my dumbass forgot to put in my address. So, the lady called me and sort of laughed at me, but we got it straightened out. Hopefully I'll get a good turnout, and it won't rain. I've got just about everything priced, except for a few things. India needs to get her stuff together too, but she'll do that when she gets here Friday. So, hopefully tomorrow I'll finish up pricing stuff and make one last sweep around the house to make sure I get ALL the unused junk!

Tonight after work, I took my bridesmaid dress to the alterations place. The lady was really nice, and it's right down the street from me. I had no idea it was even there. But, I think she'll do a really good job. I might send a few of my stuff there to be tailored. I really liked the place, and she gave me a discount!

I need to get Jamie a gift for her bridal shower on Sunday. I'm not sure what I'm going to get her yet. I also need to get a wedding gift for my aunt for next weekend. I think I'm just going to give her some money so they can use it on their cruise. I suppose I should start thinking about packing! Oh joy!

I need to find a camera bag before next weekend. I think I'll go to Schiller's tomorrow. Maybe I can convince my boss to go with me and help me pick one out.

Kickball!

Remember playing kickball in school? It was the bomb! Anyway, WAKA Kickball opened the Gateway Division registration back up. I have a team forming called the "Kickin Wings" if anyone is interested in joining. It's a blast! The games are on Thursday nights at Fo' Po' at 6:30 and 7something. The registration cost is $61 but that covers a bunch of stuff:

"The fee includes all equipment, WAKA team t-shirt for each player, actual games, social organization, personal WAKA player cards, funds for division parties, specials/discounts at the sponsor restaurant/bar, other general operation costs, and most importantly, the use of the fields. This is the biggest bang for your entertainment buck in the St. Louis area!"

So, if you wanna go back old skool, join! It's gonna be fun! www.worldkickball.com

Anyway, moving on, we went for a jog/walk tonight and then came back and did "Abs of Steel" with TamiLee Webb. I swear she's a porn star. If she's not, she should be.

Tonight for dinner, I made a salad and then had some of that tuna in the little package, but it was flavored with garlic and herbs. It was really yummy! I will buy that again.

My doctor told me that I look good in "peach". It was a little awkward. But, I just said "uh, thanks."

Well, I'm off to go back to doing what I was doing before, which was nothing, however, I like doing nothing. I really need to finish pricing stuff for the garage sale considering Friday I'm not going to be home. But, I guess I can do that tomorrow.

Mother's Day

Today was a good day. We went grocery shopping, then came home and made quesa-tortillas. They were really yummy! After that, I started pricing some stuff for the big garage sale and did some laundry. Tonight, we took Chris's mom and dad out to dinner for Mother's Day. We went to Ethyl's in O'Fallon. I'd never been there before but I thought it was pretty good. The food was good and the beer was cold. They have sand volleyball too.

I'd say all in all, this was a good weekend. The weather was nice too, so that's a bonus.

I'm excited about tomorrow because I'm wearing a new outfit. New clothes make me happy! I think tomorrow I'm going to go back to Banana Republic and look for a different dress for the wedding. The girl working yesterday told me they were getting a bunch of new dresses in on Monday, so maybe I'll go check it out. I'll be getting off work early tomorrow because I have to go to the doctor to get checked out for cancer. I'm not really going to talk about that right now, but if I find out anything bad, I'll let you know. I think I'm going to be okay though. No worries, but lots of prayers.

Well, I'm so full from dinner I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep for a few hours. So, I'll just watched tivo'd Survivor and The Soprano's. This week will be busy, but I don't think it will be as busy as last week. Friday my sister is coming in for the weekend and I think she's bringing a friend. Then, we're supposed to go over to Chris's 'rents for dinner with them and Chris's sister and her boy. That should be fun. Carol's having a 'tropical' type themed dinner with lots of drinks!

Anyway, more about my exciting life tomorrow! Night!

Jaq Box!

So, I realize I haven't posted in a few days. Sorry about that, been busy.

Today was a good day. This morning when I got up, I went out on the deck and laid out for a while. Then, I came back in and took a shower, and me and Chris headed out to the mall. I ended up getting a dress for my aunts wedding and a really cute skirt at Banana Republic. Then, I got 2 skirts, a pair of capri pants, a shirt, 2 pairs of earrings and a necklace at NY & Co. Then, I got a pair of shoes for the bridesmaids dress I have to wear in June. Chris got 2 outfits for Miami. I think I came out with the better deal. :P

After that, we came home for a while, then went to Subway for dinner. There was a new girl working and she totally had no clue what she was doing. It took her 15 minutes to fix our sandwiches. How freaking hard is it to prepare a sandwich that someone directs you on what to put on it, etc etc. I don't get it.

RJ came over tonight, and we watched Iron Chef. He left and then I washed some dishes. Exciting, yes, I know.

Last night we sorted out all the garage sale stuff from the basement. It's amazing how many boxes we eliminated and threw away from just sorting the stuff we wanted to throw away, from the stuff we wanted to sell. Now, our basement is amazingly clutter-free and everything is in nice neat tubs stacked on our shelves. Tomorrow I'm going to start putting prices on all the stuff. I don't really feel like we have *that* much junk to sell. So far, we just have 2 big Dell computer boxes full of clothes and then like 3 smaller boxes full of junk, a loveseat, a dressing table, and some various other junk. If I'm lucky, all the hardcore garage sale junkies will buy every last piece of my precious junk up before noon!

When we were at the mall today, we went into the Adopt-A-Stray store and looked at some of the dogs and cats there. They didn't really have any cute dogs but they did have a pretty cute puppy and a cat that was kinda cute. Granted, I'm not looking for a dog or a cat, but I know Chris really wants one or the other, and I'll at least look.

Well, I think I'm going to go rummage the kitchen for a tasty little snack. Tomorrow I think we're going to see Mean Girls. Woo.

Beautiful Day!

Warm weather puts me in such a good mood! It is so nice out today. Too bad I'm stuck in the office! Oh well. I think it's supposed to be just as nice, if not nicer this weekend. Mid 80's or something. Woohoo!

Today has been good so far. No accountant, no boss! Go me! I'm thinking about having a chicken sandwich for lunch, or going to Dierberg's to get a salad. I can't decide.

I don't think my mom realizes that I'm not going to see her this weekend. I dread having to deal with my grandma when she does realize I'm not coming. But, the way I feel about it is this. I don't understand why my grandma won't drive at least to Columbia, to my sister's. She'll drive everywhere else and visit other family members, but she won't even go visit her own granddaughters...though I'm supposed to drive the 5 hours to her house for the weekend? I'm just not gonna do it. End. of. story.

Well, I just got busy. BLAH. Later!

Michigan Trip

So, my aunt and cousin got here Thursday night. We had dinner then, went out shopping to pick up a few last minute things. Friday morning we got up early and ended up leaving at 7am on the dot. The drive to Michigan felt like it was never going to end. I drove the entire way and it took around 8 1/2 hours. The toll roads just killed me. They just went on and on forever. Thankfully on the way back on Sunday, we took a different way home and it seemed to be a lot shorter, timewise.

Anyway, Friday night, we went out to dinner with my other aunt and her fiance, Jim. We went to a place called Portofino's on the Detroit River. It was really good! The food and service was excellent. After we ate, we relocated to the bar and listened to a band play and had some drinks. The band was great too. After that, we made a stop at the liquor store, then headed over to see Tish & Jim's new house. It's so pretty! I totally love it. It's a new house and she's going to have a blast decorating it. The backyard is awesome too. She has a huge deck, huge yard, and a built in grill. They're going to get a hot tub and man, I can't wait to go back and visit after they move in!

Anyway, the shower was on Saturday. It was nice. She got a ton of nice stuff. We all had a good time too. It was nice seeing my other 3 cousins. After the shower, we went over to one of Tish's friend's houses for drinks. Except, I had no idea her house was really a $5 Mil Mansion. WOW. It was freaking beautiful. I could go on and on about it, but I'm just going to say this. It was a huge, huge, huge house and the inside was just too beautiful to put into words. Okay, enough about that. We had great wine! After we left her house, like 5 hours later, we went back to Tish's place, ordered some chinese, then headed out to her friend Pauline's bar for karaoke. It was a blast! Tish actually sings and sounds really good, but the other hoosiers at this bar were sooo bad. A bunch of old drunk men, singing really bad songs. But, we had a great time!

Sunday, we left Michigan around 7am and it was raining. That kinda sucked, but once we got into Indiana, it stopped raining for a while and it wasn't too bad. We got home in one piece and I was so happy to get home! I really had a good time this weekend.

Today, I was super busy at work and since I was tired, it kinda made the day crappy. I had to clean up the mess that the girl who fills in for me sometimes left. There's always a ton of shit she screws up. Honestly, sometimes I'd rather her not help out while I'm gone. She creates more work for me when she's there, than I have when she's not there. The accountant is all in a huff because she misplaced a check that she got on Friday from one of our big customers. I called her to ask her about it, and she was just like "uhhh, uhhh, I don't know...." I don't even think she knew what I was talking about. Oh well, just another thing I've gotta deal with this weekend. I will say, the accountant was cool today. He brought in lunch for everyone. Salad and sandwiches, which was nice because I forgot my lunch today.

My boss had to put the family dog down this weekend. He was really bummed out today and he said one of his kids was super super bummed about it. So, before the end of the day, he bailed out early to go try and get another dog from the Humane Society. Hopefully this new dog will fill the void the old dog left.

I'm going to be busy this week, so if I don't post everyday, I apologize in advance. I just have too much to do. I'm going crazy here!! And, I totally need to get on the ball with this wedding stuff for Jamie & Jon's wedding in June. I still need to get my shoes, and get my dress altered and get a shower present for her shower next weekend. Not to mention, get with the other bridesmaids about the bach. party. Then, there's a ton of stuff at work, Dionne's graduation this weekend, Mother's Day and other stuff that's going on this month that I need to get ready for.

Well, that's about it. I think I'm going to go to bed. I'm exhausted. Goodnight!

I just got back from Michigan a few hours ago. I am really tired though. I just woke up from a nap, and as soon as I shower and grab a bite to eat, I'm going back to sleep for tonight. I will post about the trip tomorrow.